Writing Mentorships

Dzanc Creative Writing Mentorships

The Dzanc Creative Writing Mentorships is an online program designed to allow writers to work one-on-one with published authors and editors to shape their short story, novel, poem, or essay. Participating writers select an available author from the list below, then sign up using the form to right. They will then be contacted by Dzanc staff with instructions on how to submit their manuscript. The mentoring author will then read the work, after which they will provide a written critique to the student.

Mentorships are conducted by email, and are available in blocks of one, two, or four hours, with longer Mentorships being cheaper per hour than shorter ones. Writers wishing to have their work critiqued should expect that DCWM authors will work at a pace of approximately ten pages of double-spaced prose per hour, and slower for poetry.

This program is being offered at an extremely low rate, thanks to the generosity of our mentors, all of whom are volunteers. Many of our mentors do similar work as freelancers and charge much greater rates than are being offered here, and other workshops and writing programs charge a lump sum of several hundred dollars up front. Not only does the DCWM allow you to control and target your expenses, but 100% of the money brought in by Dzanc by our DCWM goes to supporting our Writer-in-Residence programs that we offer free to students in elementary and secondary schools across the country.

The list of authors below are all available for you to select as a mentor for your own Dzanc Creative Writing Session. Included on the list are many award-winning, published novelists, short story writers, flash fiction writers, poets, and non-fiction writers. If you would prefer not to select a specific author, we would be happy to select one for you.

To sign up today, please use the form located in the sidebar.

For more information on our Creative Writing Mentorships program or any questions about the process, please send an email to info@dzancbooks.org.

Clicking on any writer's name below will allow to see a brief bio. Note that not all writers will be available at all times, and that while many of the Mentorships are wrapped up in as quick as a couple of days, they do sometimes take as long as a couple of weeks, due to mentoring authors' non-DCWM schedules.

Entries by Category

Click on a category below to view a list of all entries within that category.

"I can't say enough about how valuable this process has been for me—and will continue to be as I digest her comments and revise my story. Her insight, encouragement and suggestions are just what I needed. I will definitely participate in this program again in the future! Thanks so much for the opportunity." —Jennifer Hollmeyer

"I am so glad you guys have this, I cannot tell you how pleased I am." —James Moore

"I found the experience quite wonderful." —Caitlin Hamilton

Please select your desired time block below, then enter the author's name who you would like to work with. After your payment is made through PayPal, you'll receive an email within two days with instructions for how to send your work through DCWS.